The present invention relates generally to pieces of jewelry and more specifically to connectors or clasps for securing the end of jewelry strand pieces around a body part of an individual.
Items of jewelry such as bracelets and necklaces are normally attached to a person wearing the jewelry utilizing a connector or a clasp. The clasp normally consists of a loop attached to one end of the jewelry piece and a connecting member located at the opposite end. The connecting member usually includes a spring-biased arm or latch that is movable from a closed or engaged position to an open or disengaged position in order to enable the loop to be positioned within the connecting member. The spring biases the latch into the closed position, such that once the loop is positioned beneath or within the latch, the latch is released and urged into the closed position by the spring to engage the loop.
One type of necklace clasp is shown in Maxheimer et al U.S. Pat. No. 468,677. In this clasp, a clip includes a clutch-head downwardly depending from one end and a pin extending from the opposite end that is engaged with a spring. The spring biases the clip into the closed position such that the clutch head is enclosed within a box. To engage the clip with a spring-catch, the clip is manually pivoted against the bias of the spring to remove the clutch-head from the box. The spring-catch is inserted into the box, and the clip is released, allowing the spring to urge the clip to engage the spring-catch.
Another example of a spring-bias clip is shown in Frankel et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,923. In this clasp, a nose portion on a male member is releasably engaged by a spring-biased locking member disposed in a female member. When the locking member is depressed, an aperture on the locking member aligns with the nose, allowing the male member and nose to be removed from the female member.
Because most pieces of jewelry require clasps similar to those described above, which are very small so as not to detract from the aesthetically pleasing appearance of the jewelry, the clasps are often very difficult to operate due to their small size. The reason for these difficulties is that any tab or protrusion on the latch that is grasped or depressed to move the latch from the engaged position to the disengaged position corresponds in size to the overall size of the clasp. As a result, it is often difficult to properly grasp or depress the tab in order to move the latch. Further, the tabs or protrusions extending from the latches on these types of clasps also present the problems with regard to the snagging of the tabs on articles of clothing, hair, etc.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a clasp for items of jewelry that is easily engaged and disengaged to secure an item of jewelry on an individual. The clasp optimally should not include any tabs or other protrusions extending outwardly from the body of the clasp that would snag on articles of clothing. It would also be most desirable to have a clasp that could be made substantially completely of precious metal, so that the clasp would be compatible with a precious metal bracelet or necklace with which it was used.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a jewelry clasp that can be engaged without needing to grasp and pivot a latch located on the clasp.
It is another object of the invention to provide a jewelry clasp that does not include any outwardly projecting tabs capable of snagging on articles of clothing and the like.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a jewelry clasp having the above features that is inexpensive to manufacture and utilize with numerous different pieces of jewelry.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a jewelry clasp having a safety sleeve slidably mounted to one portion of the clasp to cover the engaged portions of the clasp when the piece of jewelry is being worn by an individual. The sleeve prevents any inadvertent disengagement of the clasp and also prevents any foreign objects from being lodged between the engaged portions of the clasp.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a jewelry clasp having the above features that is made almost entirely of a precious metal.
The present invention is a jewelry clasp used to secure opposite ends of a piece of jewelry around a body part of an individual. The clasp includes a female receiving part attached to one end of the jewelry piece. The receiving part includes a latch pivotally mounted within the receiving part and having a downwardly projecting hook at one end. The hook has a outer sloping surface and an inner curved surface. The hook projects downwardly into the receiving part and intersects a slot that extends inwardly from one end of the receiving part.
The clasp also includes a male engaging part that is attached to the piece of jewelry opposite the female receiving part. The male engaging part includes a base portion secured to the jewelry piece and a catch, such as a loop extending opposite the jewelry piece. The loop is formed by a pair of parallel outwardly extending legs and a crossbar extending between the legs opposite the base portion. The crossbar includes a sloping outer wall that slopes in the same direction as the direction of the outer surface of the hook.
To connect the male engaging portion with the female receiving portion in order to engage the clasp, the crossbar of the loop on the male engaging portion is pressed against the hook on the female receiving portion. The sloping outer wall on the crossbar contacts the outer sloping surface on the hook and, due to the similar slopes of the sloping sections, urges the hook and latch upwardly with respect to the loop on the male receiving part. Once the hook has been raised completely over the loop, the hook passes over the crossbar and then drops downwardly into an opening defined within the loop to retain the crossbar portion of the loop within the female receiving part. To disengage the clasp, an individual grasps a flange extending forwardly from the latch above the hook and pivots the latch upwardly away from the receiving part. Once the hook is completely removed from within the loop, the male engaging part can be removed from the female receiving part.
The clasp also includes a sleeve slidably mounted to the male engaging part. The sleeve is slidably connected to the engaging part by the engagement of a tab extending inwardly from the sleeve with a groove extending longitudinally along one side of the male engaging part. The sleeve can have a cross-sectional area adjacent the tab slightly larger than the cross-sectional area of the male engaging part, and can either flare outwardly such that the end of the sleeve opposite the tab has a cross-sectional area greater than the cross-sectional area adjacent the tab or angle inwardly to provide a friction fit between the sleeve and the female part when the sleeve is used. Once the male engaging part has been engaged with the female receiving part, the sleeve may be slid along the male part to cover the engagement between the respective male and female clasp parts. Thus, the sleeve serves to prevent any objects from becoming entangled between the respective parts of the clasp, and also prevents any object from inadvertently disengaging the clasp.